San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain struggled in Game 7 but still managed to keep the St. Louis Cardinals scoreless for 5 2/3 innings. The Giants went on to a 9-0 victory in the deciding game of the 2012 National League Championship Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (Ben Margot/AP)

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Icing on the cake

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt makes the score 9-0 with this solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Hopes washed away

Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran bats in the rain during the ninth inning. The teams played most of the final inning in a downpour. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Didn't make it

The Giants' Angel Pagan is out at the plate on this play in the seventh inning. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina gets ready to catch the ball and apply the tag. Pagan's out didn't hurt the Giants at all in their 9-0 victory. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Comeback complete

Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo, right, and catcher Buster Posey react after the final out in Game 7. San Francisco won the NLCS after trailing three games to one in the best-of-7 series. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Wait till next year

Yadier Molina, left, and Daniel Descalso watch the ninth inning from the Cardinals' dugout. The 2011 World Series champs could not close out the Giants after going up 3-1 in the series. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Rain dance

Giants players celebrate their Game 7 victory. San Francisco will meet the Detroit Tigers in the World Series beginning Wednesday. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Wet and wonderful

Sergio Romo reacts after the final out. He's about to be joined on the mound by a mess of elated teammates. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Bubbly bath

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval wears goggles to protect his eyes during the postame celebration in the clubhouse. He'll gladly expose his neck to the chilled champagne. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Giants reign

The San Francisco Giants are National League champions for 2012 after knocking off the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game Championship Series. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Sweet music

Ryan Vogelsong has gone from discard to indispensable in just two years. The San Francisco Giants righthander was at his best in Game 6, holding the Cardinals to a run over seven innings in a 6-1 victory. The win forces a Game 7 in the series. (Ben Margot/AP)

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A Giants fan holds up a sign referencing "torture," which is an endearing term in this case, during Game 6. San Francisco's propensity for playing close games led to that characterization. Game 6 was a breeze as the Giants led 5-0 after two innings. (Ben Margot/AP)

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Square it up

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt hits a triple off of St. Louis pitcher Chris Carpenter during the second inning. The Giants scored four times against Carpenter in the frame. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Just missed it

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval reacts after flying out during the fourth inning. Sandoval's frustration was short-lived as the Giants cruised to a 6-1 victory in Game 6. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Coming up empty

St. Louis' Daniel Descalso (33) flips his bat after striking out to end the second inning. Giants catcher Buster Posey heads to the dugout. Cardinals batters fanned nine times against San Francisco starter Ryan Vogelsong. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Get excited

Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo reacts after the final out in the ninth inning. The Giants tie the series at 3-3 with a 6-1 victory in Game 6. (Ben Margot/AP)

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Flummoxed

Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran reacts in the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 6. St. Louis, once up 3-1 in the series, will play in a deciding Game 7. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Barry Zito, improbably, helps save the San Francisco Giants' season. The lefthander pitches 7 2/3 scoreless innings during his first action of the series. The Giants go on to win Game 5, 5-0. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip/AP)

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Baseball ballet

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig can't come up with a foul ball hit by the Giants' Pablo Sandoval during the eighth inning. Sandoval would hit a home run later in the at-bat. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

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I got this

Giants right fielder Hunter Pence makes a sliding catch on a ball hit by the Cardinals' Pete Kozma in the fifth inning. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

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Yadier Molina

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, fooled by one of Barry Zito's offerings, loses his bat as he grounds out in the fourth inning. Giants catcher Buster Posey is in the background. Zito kept the Cardinals off balance all night. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Turning point

Cardinals rookie shortstop Pete Kozma can't reach a throw from starting pitcher Lance Lynn on an attempted double play in the fourth inning. Pablo Sandoval is the runner bearing down on Kozma, Lynn's throwing error leads to a four-run inning for the Giants. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Panda power

Pablo Sandoval hits a home run during the eighth inning against St. Louis' Mitchell Boggs. The solo blast is the cherry on top of the Giants' 5-0 victory in Game 5. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Matt trick

Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday reacts after striking out to end the eighth inning. Holliday fanned three times in the game, twice against Barry Zito. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

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Still kicking

Giants center fielder Angel Pagan (16) celebrates with teammates after Game 5. San Francisco brings the series back to California; Game 6 will be Sunday. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Wright's stuff

This multiple-exposure image photo shows St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright making a delivery in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants. Wainwright pitched seven strong innings in a Cardinals Game 4 victory. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

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Freak's funk

Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum throws during the first inning. Lincecum was touched for two runs in the inning and departed in the fifth. (Dilip Vishwanat/AP)

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Above and beyond

Giants center fielder Angel Pagan goes up to catch a long fly ball hit by St. Louis' Yadier Molina in the third inning. Pagan's effortss went for naught as the Giants lost the game, 8-3. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Forget something?

Giants catcher Hector Sanchez is in position to tag Cardinals baserunner Matt Carpenter at home plate, but there's one problem: He doesn't have the ball. It bounced away from him after it came in from the infield. Carpenter scored on the play in the fifth inning, when the Cardinals added to their early lead.(Jeff Roberson/AP)

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Look away

The Cardinals' Allen Craig is nearly hit by a pitch during the seventh inning. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Searching for answers

Giants manager Bruce Bochy scratches his head as Game 4 slips away from him and his team. San Francisco will try to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Friday night. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

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One step away

Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay (19) goes high to celebrate St. Louis' Game 4 victory. One more win in the NLCS and the Cardinals will be on their way back to the World Series. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

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Mighty-good Motte

Cardinals closer Jason Motte gets an extended workout in Game 3, pitching the eighth and ninth innings. Motte disposes of the only six hitters he faces to preserve a 3-1 victory over the Giants. With the win, the Cardinals take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

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Cardinals fan Tyler Ormond checks the status of Busch Stadium during Wednesday's Game 3 rain delay. Umpires halted the game in the seventh inning and resumed it 3½ hours later. Most of the capacity crowd, like Ormond, stuck out the delay. The game was shorter than the rain delay, played in just over three hours. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Flying Panda

Pablo Sandoval makes a diving stop on fifth-inning grounder by the Cardinals' Kyle Lohse. Sandoval, nicknamed "Panda" for his portly shape, got the putout. But the Giants couldn't get a big inning and lost Game 3. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP)

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Hammering Carpenter

Matt Carpenter gets a hero's welcome after his third-inning, two-run home run off Matt Cain. Carpenter's blast proves to be the game-winning hit, as the Redbirds keep the Giants scoreless the rest of Game 3. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP)

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Turning two

Shortstop Brandon Crawford leaps clear of the Cardinals' Jon Jay to turn a double play in Game 3 of the NLCS. Solid defense by both teams kept the runs down, and there were no more baseline collisions. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

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Hard Hit

San Francisco Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro grimaces as his leg is caught under a sliding St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Holliday on a double play attempt during the first inning of Game 2 of baseball's National League championship series Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, in San Francisco.

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Another missed call

Cardinals first baseman Allen Craig (21) and Daniel Descalso (33) argue that Craig tagged Giants runner Gregor Blanco (7) before he returned to the bag. Video backed up the Cards' claims. Umpire Bill Miller and his fellow crew members disagreed. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro became a key figure in Game 2. He injures a hip when Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday slid into him on a first-inning double-play attempt. Scutaro got his revenge in the fourth with a bases-loaded single that cleared the bases when Holliday misplayed the ball for an error. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Jump around

From left, Giants outfielders Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco and Hunter Pence celebrate their team's 7-1 victory in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series. The series will resume Wednesday in St. Louis. (Jose Luis Villegas/AP)

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The show before the show

The American flag is draped across the AT&T Park outfield as Jose Feliciano sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Game 1 of the NLCS. (Tim Donnelly/AP)

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Pocket protection

San Francisco Giants left fielder Gregor Blanco makes a sliding catch on a ball hit by Skip Schumaker of the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Rookie sensation

Pete Kozma's magical run continued Sunday. The Cardinals' rookie shortstop steals third base after delivering an RBI double in the fourth inning. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey/AP)

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Bad night

Giants starter Madison Bumgarner lasted just 3 2/3 innings in Game 1 and was charged with all six of St. Louis' runs. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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Who's got it?

Cardinals third baseman David Freese, left, and shortstop Pete Kozma have this popup by Angel Pagan covered. Freese, a postseason hero for the Cardinals last season, homered in Game 1 Sunday. (David J. Phillip/AP)

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King Carlos

Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran added to his sparkling postseason resume with a two-run homer off Madison Bumgarner in the fourth inning. The Cardinals built a 6-0 lead, then hung on for a 6-4 victory. (Mark Humphrey/AP)